Former National Councillor of the Pharmacy Guild, Paul Sinclair, has been elected the president of the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), the first Australian to hold the position.
Mr Sinclair, a community pharmacist and former community pharmacy proprietor, has served on FIP for a number of years, including as president of its Community Pharmacy Section (2014–18) and chair of FIP’s Board of Pharmaceutical Practice since 2018.
He has also held several officer positions at the Pharmacy Council of New South Wales, the Australian Association of Consultant Pharmacists and the Pharmacy Guild, as well as board positions in not-for-profit organisations such as Asthma Australia.
He has had extensive experience in local government, serving as both a councillor and mayor of Campbelltown City Council. In 2019, Mr Sinclair was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia for his services to pharmacy, the community and local government.
Acknowledging the challenges of COVID-19 in his election statement, Mr Sinclair said that he had taken an active leadership role in adapting and developing FIP’s business and practice models to help the federation both survive and prosper during the pandemic.
“I see the challenge ahead as building on our successes over the past two years to make FIP an even stronger and a more member-facing organisation,” he said.
His vision includes that FIP’s membership model has a high-value proposition that supports all categories of members and that FIP benefits from diversified income streams which delivers improved financial security enabling greater support for members. He promised that as FIP president he would advocate for the pharmacy profession “in all its forms”, further advancing pharmacy worldwide and leaving no one behind.
“Our smallest member organisation will always be an important cog in the wheel that drives FIP forward,” he said.
Mr Sinclair’s took over as president elect on 23 September and his four-year term as FIP president will begin in September 2023.
“I am both excited and humbled to be elected president of FIP and to be the first Australian president reinforces the global reach and importance of our federation. I look forward to continuing the strong tradition of service to our profession that has defined previous FIP presidents,” he said.
